Week 9 Blog Post

When choosing an artist for this response I was immediately drawn to Jean-Honore Fragonard because of his painting The Swing. I enjoyed the playfulness and detail in his scenery and figures in the background.  I was curious to what other masterpieces he had created in his time. When I looked at his other portraits I was drawn to the Young Girl Reading because this is the exact portrait my Grandmother keeps in my bedroom when I come to visit her. I go to sleep with this duplicate of his painting on the opposite wall and have never really looked at it.

            Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter of the 18^th century, and was thought of as one of the most important. It was while in Rome that Fragonard picked up the art of broad vigorous brush strokes. I learned that Fragonard’s strengths were primarily in painted landscapes rather than portraits. He was an independent painter who would sell to a closer group of collectors.

In 1770 Fragonard began to paint Young Girl Reading, also known as The Reader. I found this to be a very simple piece with a semi natural pose held in a distinguished but simple setting, where the young girl seems absorbed in what she is reading. This seemed to be a step back from Fragonard’s usual landscape art. This oil painting uses colors in the background that contrasts to the colors used to create a natural light and emphasis of color in the figure. The illumination on the pillow and chair supporting her back alludes to the setting being in front of a window as she reads. It only took Fragonard an hour to paint his subject.

It only took Fragonard an hour to paint his subject. He used long brush strokes while he painted. The white collar around her neck was detailed by using the end of his brush to create such deep texture and detail in the fabric. This technique was not common and not greatly understood for the time. Although this piece isn’t incredibly detailed like so many others I was drawn into the simplicity of it all and overall peacefulness of the painting. The inspiration behind this painting actually came from Fragonard’s wife’s 14-year-old sister Marguerite. Fragonard later fell in love with her and made her his student and assistant.

Something interesting about this painting was that , according to x-ray evidence, Fragonard had painted over another painting he had done of a young girl. This painting was one of a series of paintings featuring young girls. Fragonard preferred to make lighthearted, erotic pictures for his private clients and patrons. The cheerfulness seemed to reflect the Rococo style. Fragonard learned different techniques to make him unique, which shows in his art and the brush strokes he chose to use.

Facts Came From:

http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/tbio?tperson=1316&type=a

http://www.aaronartprints.org/fragonard-thereader.php

Week 8 Blog Post

Renaissance ideals brought humanism, naturalism, idealism, and visual harmony to art. I believe this innovated time period brought inspired many periods that followed. One period being the Baroque period of the 17^th century. The Baroque period took a new spin to the ideals of Renaissance by bringing exaggerated motions and details to produce drama and tension in their pieces. One of the biggest influences on these pieces, I think, was the mannerism period of the renaissance. With their exaggerated figures and extended almost uncomfortable limbs on the figures of their piece.

To support my ideas I’m comparing Bernini’s David (1623) to Michelangelo’s David (1501). Michelangelo’s David has become the most recognized sculpture of David, because of his attention to detail in the anatomy of the body, and the realism brought through the sculpture. David stands with his entire weight on one leg causing his hips and shoulder to create an angle that is aesthetically pleasing for the high renaissance period. The influence of Greek sculpture is easily seen in this relaxed confident pose. Michelangelo’s piece has been created based off of symmetry of the human form.

The Baroque period was a time of great energy when artists were so fascinated by the action and movement of the human body. This is where I saw the most obvious differences in the two David figures. Bernini’s David is actually taking action. He either has already thrown the stone or is preparing himself to throw the stone at Goliath and we are able to see his muscles tense and as if they are in motion. His face is concentrated on his actions and the effort it takes him. This David, unlike Michelangelo’s David, is not nude. He wares loose fitting garments to emphasis more movement in the sculpture. The Baroque period looked to be more anatomically correct with their figures and this shows in Bernini’s David. David’s arms are more proportionate to the rest of his body than Michelangelo’s David is.

I am able to see the Mannerism ideals brought to this particular figure. More in the way David stands, contorted almost uncomfortably but still with grace. Sculpted dramatically to best depict David’s heroic actions. A main idea the Baroque period brought to art that the Renaissance didn’t emphasis is the amount of viewing angles. From looking straight on to David we see his concentration, but looking to the sides we see the most action. The sculpture holds many angles to look at with a different energy every time. 

Week 6 Blog Post

Italian art during the renaissance marks the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. The artists no longer exclusively depended on the patronage of the Church, the court, or civic associations. In general, northern art continued to carry on the late medieval tradition of great attention to detail. The Italian influence helped to modify this emphasis by simplifying and pulling away from the less essential features to the main theme.

Albrecht Dürer was the foremost artist from the German Renaissance. Dürer had many trades, gold work, stained glass, woodcuts, and painting. In the end it was his painting and graphic arts that he excelled in. It was when he made his trip to Italy that he was introduced to ideas and attitudes of the Italian renaissance. After his journeys to Italy he mainly worked with ideas from the Italian Renaissance, which enabled him to create new images. During Dürer’s lifetime he was able to make the transition from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance in Germany. This became a process known as "Durerzeit" (age of Durer).

The work of Dürer I found most striking was his piece The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In The Four Horsemen Dürer uses great overlap in his figures. Where many artists before him lined up the horsemen in a row or one over the next, Dürer combines the four on top of one another creating a realistic chaos that the horsemen brought during the Apocalypse.  This woodcut depicts the figures described in Revelations 6:1-8, the red horse (War), the black horse (Plague and Famine), The pale horse (Death), and the white horse (Conquest).

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse follows Dürer tradition established by his late fifteenth-century predecessors. He fills his foreground with large active figures. I found it interesting that these figures in his fore ground represent various people. There are many figures that seem to represent various higher powers in society. There is a man in the far right corner that is wearing what looks like a mitre lying near a woman who seems to be wearing everyday civilian clothing.

Dürer depiction of the Four Horsemen is vastly different from past creations of the story. Dürer creates the classic dimentionalism in his piece that the renaissance period is most known for.  He also leans towards realism and naturalism in this woodcut. The great detail in the four horsemen creates a direct story of the four horsemen whereas other pieces aren’t direct in their figure placement and lacks the details in the most important places. Dürer’s details in his woodcut create realism and bring interest to the story being told. Keeping focus on each individual horseman and what they represent.